About

"If He Dies, He Dies" is a memorable quote from the 1985 film Rocky IV that has seen use as an image macro in recent years. It is also used by itself as a snowclone.

Origin

The line originated in Rocky IV during the end of the boxing match between Apollo and his opponent Ivan Drago. Drago is easily beating Apollo bloody, and despite demands to throw in the towel Rocky hesitates for too long. Drago then lands a fatal blow on Apollo, causing him to collapse onto the floor of the ring. As Apollo dies in Rocky's arms, Drago is questioned by reporters. His only reply is "If he dies, he dies." (Clip shown below).

Drago then stares down at Rocky. This iconic stare is what is mainly used for the image macro.

Spread

On March 3rd, 2018, TMZ reported that rapper 50 Cent posted the image of Ivan Drago on his Instagram^[1]. The image was rumored to have been directed towards longtime enemy Rick Ross (shown below).

The image macro also saw use during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

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